Eschatology – Christian Research Institutehttp://www.equip.org
EQUIP, Christian Research Institute, The Bible Answer Man, Equip AppSat, 17 Feb 2018 23:00:12 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.435687637What Happens to those of Us who Die before Jesus Returns?http://www.equip.org/video/what-happens-to-those-of-us-who-die-before-jesus-returns/
http://www.equip.org/video/what-happens-to-those-of-us-who-die-before-jesus-returns/#respondWed, 17 Aug 2011 18:21:39 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/video/what-happens-to-those-of-us-who-die-before-jesus-returns/Hank Hanegraaff answers a caller’s question about what happens to those people who die before Jesus returns and where they go for now. www.equip.org http

]]>http://www.equip.org/video/what-happens-to-those-of-us-who-die-before-jesus-returns/feed/09746What happens to children who die before they can make a choice for Him?http://www.equip.org/video/what-happens-to-children-who-die-before-they-can-make-a-choice-for-him/
http://www.equip.org/video/what-happens-to-children-who-die-before-they-can-make-a-choice-for-him/#respondWed, 17 Aug 2011 17:44:35 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/video/what-happens-to-children-who-die-before-they-can-make-a-choice-for-him/Hank answers a caller who asks “What happens to children who die? Do they go to heaven?” www.equip.org http

]]>http://www.equip.org/video/what-happens-to-children-who-die-before-they-can-make-a-choice-for-him/feed/09747Is Amillennialism Heretical?http://www.equip.org/video/is-amillennialism-heretical/
http://www.equip.org/video/is-amillennialism-heretical/#respondThu, 16 Jun 2011 18:43:25 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/video/is-amillennialism-heretical/In this call, Hank Hanegraaff discusses amillenialism with a caller and both explains why differences in interpreting the book of Revelation are not a cause for division amongst Christians, as well as explaining the importance of grounding oneself in studying the full of scripture. www.equip.org http

]]>http://www.equip.org/video/hank-hanegraaff-refutes-harold-campings-may-21-2011-judgment-day-prediction/feed/09757Was Revelation written before or after the destruction of the temple in AD 70?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/was-revelation-written-before-or-after-the-destruction-of-the-temple-in-ad-70/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/was-revelation-written-before-or-after-the-destruction-of-the-temple-in-ad-70/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 14:11:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/was-revelation-written-before-or-after-the-destruction-of-the-temple-in-ad-70/Just as it is common to describe Patmos as a barren Alcatraz, misidentify the great prostitute as the Roman Catholic Church, or identify the 144,000 as exclusively Jewish male virgins, so too it is common to contend that Revelation was written long after the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Thus, according to modern-day prophecy pundits, Revelation describes events that will likely take place in the twenty-first century rather than the first century.

First, if the apostle John were indeed writing in AD 95—long after the destruction of the temple— it seems incredible that he would make no mention whatsoever of the most apocalyptic event in Jewish history—the demolition of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple at the hands of Titus. Imagine writing a history of New York today and making no mention of the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center at the hands of terrorists on September 11, 2001. Or, more directly, imagine writing a thesis on the future of terrorism in America and failing to mention the Manhattan Massacre. Consider another parallel. Imagine that you are reading a history concerning Jewish struggles in Nazi Germany and find no mention whatsoever of the Holocaust. Would it not be reasonable to suppose that this history was written prior to the outbreak of World War II? The answer is self-evident. Just as it stretches credulity to suggest that a history of the Jews in Germany would be written in the aftermath of World War II and yet make no mention of the Holocaust, so too it is unreasonable to think that Revelation was written twenty-five years after the destruction of Jerusalem and yet makes no mention of the most apocalyptic event in Jewish history.

Furthermore, those who hold that the book of Revelation was written long after the destruction of the temple in AD 70 face an even more formidable obstacle! Consider one of the most amazing prophecies in all of Scripture. Jesus is leaving the temple when his disciples call his attention to its buildings. As they gaze upon its massive stones and magnificent buildings, Jesus utters the unthinkable: “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6). One generation later this prophecy, no doubt still emblazoned on the tablet of their consciousness, became a vivid and horrifying reality. As noted by Josephus, the temple was doomed August 30, AD 70, “the very day on which the former temple had been destroyed by the king of Babylon.” As incredible as Christ’s prophecy and its fulfillment one generation later are, it is equally incredible to suppose that the apostle John would make no mention of it. As the student of Scripture well knows, New Testament writers were quick to highlight fulfilled prophecy. The phrase “This was to fulfill what was spoken of by the prophet” permeates the pages of Scripture. Thus, it is inconceivable that Jesus would make an apocalyptic prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple and that John would fail to mention that the prophecy was fulfilled one generation later just as Jesus had predicted it.

Finally, let me highlight an additional piece of internal evidence that should give pause to those who are overly dogmatic about the late-dating of Revelation. In Revelation 11 John says, “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months’” (vv. 1–2). In context, Jesus has sent his angel “to show his servants what must soon take place.” Thus, the prophecy concerns a future event, not one that took place twenty-five years earlier.

In summary, among the reasons we can be certain that the book of Revelation was not written twenty-five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, three tower above the rest. First, just as it is unreasonable to suppose that someone writing a history of the World Trade Center in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, would fail to mention the destruction of the twin towers, so too it stretches credulity to suggest that Revelation was written in the aftermath of the devastation of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple and yet makes no mention of this apocalypse. Additionally, if John is writing in AD 95, it is incredible to suppose he would not mention the fulfillment of Christ’s most improbable and apocalyptic vision. Finally, New Testament documents—including the book of Revelation— speak of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple intact at the time they were written. If Revelation was written before AD 70, it is reasonable to assume that the vision given to John was meant to reveal the apocalyptic events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem—events that were still in John’s future but are in our past. This, of course, does not presuppose that all the prophecies in Revelation have already been fulfilled. Just as thoughtful Christians should distance themselves from the fully futurist fallacy, they should disavow a predominantly preterist (i.e., past) perspective.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him
to show his servants what must soon take place.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant
John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is,
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart
what is written in it, because the time is near.”
Revelation 1:1–3

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/was-revelation-written-before-or-after-the-destruction-of-the-temple-in-ad-70/feed/07929Who wrote Revelation?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-wrote-revelation/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-wrote-revelation/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 14:05:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/who-wrote-revelation/In the same way that buildings contain clues that unveil the identity of their architects, so too books contain clues that unveil the identity of their authors. In the case of Revelation, three possibilities have been put forward, but only one fits the design.

First is a notion that can be dismissed rather rapidly, namely, the idea that Revelation was written pseudonymously. Pseudonymity (writing under a false name) was largely practiced by writers who lack authority. Thus, they borrow the names of authentic eyewitnesses to the life and times of Christ to create an air of credibility. In sharp contrast, the book of Revelation provides ample internal evidence that it was written by a Jew intimately acquainted with the historical events and locations he wrote about. Only a handful of extremists today even countenance the possibility that Revelation could have been written pseudonymously.

Furthermore, it is commonly argued that Revelation was written by a shadowy figure named John the Elder. Like pseudonymity, this contention has its feet firmly planted in mid-air. It would be better grounded if there were even a shred of historical certainty that John the Elder existed in the first place. (According to eminent New Testament scholar R. C. H. Lenski, the reason the “Elder theory” caught on in the first place is not historical evidence but distaste for chiliasm—i.e., millenarianism.) It is far more likely that John the Elder is just another way of referring to John the apostle. Indeed, John describes himself as “the Elder,” not to distinguish himself from “the apostle,” but to emphasize his authority and seniority. In short, there is scant evidence that a distinct John the Elder even existed and there is sufficient evidence that John the Elder and John the apostle are one and the same.

Finally, while there is little to commend the notion that a shadowy figure named John the Elder wrote the book of Revelation, there is ample evidence that it was written by John the apostle. The very fact that the author of the apocalypse simply calls himself John is a dead giveaway that he was well known throughout the churches in Asia Minor. Additionally, the fingerprints of John the apostle are all over the apocalypse! One need only open their eyes and ears to apprehend the clues. For example, John, and John alone, identifies Jesus as the Word, or Logos (John 1:1, 14; Revelation 19:13). Likewise, John alone identifies Jesus as the true witness (John 5:31–47; 8:14–18; Revelation 2:13; 3:14), and it is John who most exploits the Mosaic requirement of two witnesses (John 8:12–30; Revelation 11:1–12). Added to this, there is undeniable commonality in the symbolic use of the number seven that transcends its literal meaning. It is also noteworthy that like the gospel of John, Revelation is a literary masterpiece.

Identifying John as the author of the apocalypse goes a long way toward shutting the door to speculations that Revelation was a late first-century— or even a second- or third-century pseudepigraphal gospel like the Gospel of Judas. Moreover, the later the date the less the likelihood that Revelation was written by an apostle or an associate of an apostle as posited by the early Christian church. The conclusion of the matter is this: there is no evidence that Revelation was written pseudonymously or by an imaginary John the Elder. The evidence convincingly points instead to John the apostle as the author of the apocalypse. Just as the architects’ fingerprints are all over our residence, so the apostle’s fingerprints are all over Revelation.

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering
and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours
in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because
of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the
Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind
me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said:
‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven
churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.’”
Revelation 1:9–11

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-wrote-revelation/feed/07930Who or what is the great prostitute of Revelation 17?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-or-what-is-the-great-prostitute-of-revelation-17/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-or-what-is-the-great-prostitute-of-revelation-17/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 14:02:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/who-or-what-is-the-great-prostitute-of-revelation-17/What has puzzled me over the years is not the identity of “the great prostitute,” but how so many could mistake her historical identity. On the one hand, hundreds of prophecy experts misidentify the great prostitute as the contemporary Roman Catholic Church. On the other, hundreds of commentators identify the great harlot as ancient (or revived) imperial Rome. The application of the historical principle of biblical interpretation, however, demonstrates that, either way, this is a clear case of mistaken identity.

First, in biblical history only one nation is inextricably linked to the moniker “harlot.” And that nation is Israel! Anyone who has read the Bible even once has flashbacks to the graphic images of apostate Israel when they first encounter the great prostitute of Revelation. From the Pentateuch to the Prophets, the image is repeated endlessly. Verse by verse, the painful picture of a people who prostitute themselves with pagan deities emerges (see, e.g., Jeremiah 2:20–24; 3:2–3; Ezekiel 23:9–20). The prostituted bride had little interest in seeking intimacy with God in his temple. Instead, she craved intimacy with foreign gods on the threshing floors of perverse temples (Hosea 9:1).

Furthermore, the fact that Revelation is a virtual recapitulation of Ezekiel adds credibility to the notion that apostate Israel is the great prostitute depicted in Revelation 17. Nowhere are the parallels more poignant than in Ezekiel 16 and Revelation 17—sequentially linked and memorable. In both Ezekiel and Revelation, the prostitute commits adultery with the kings of the earth; is dressed in splendor; glitters with gold and precious jewels; and is intoxicated with the blood of the righteous. And that is but a glimpse of her unveiling. In Ezekiel, the prostitution of Jerusalem made that of her sisters— Samaria and Sodom—look insignificant by comparison. And in Revelation she is in bed with imperial Rome. In the end, the great prostitute aligns herself with Caesar in piercing Christ and persecuting Christians. The golden cup in her hand is filled with “the blood of prophets and of the saints and of all who have been killed on the earth” (Revelation 18:24). Shrouded in mystery, she was glorious—like “the most beautiful of jewels” (Ezekiel 16:7). Unveiled as apostate Israel, she is grotesque.

Finally, when we consider the fact that the essence of Revelation involves a contrast between the purified bride and a prostituted bride, the identity of apostate Israel as the great prostitute becomes unmistakable. While the prostituted bride bears the mark, “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth” (17:5), the purified bride bears the moniker of the Lord and the Lamb on her forehead. Unlike “the synagogue of Satan” (2:9)—those who claim to be Jews though they are not—she need not fear the judgment about to befall Jerusalem, for she has been sealed by “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (13:8). In fact, before apostate Israel is judged, true Israel must be sealed. Says John: “[An angel] called out with a loud voice . . . : ‘Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the forehead of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel” (Revelation 7:3–4).

“I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast
that was covered
with blasphemous names and had seven heads and
ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet,
and was glittering with gold, precious stones and
pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with
abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
This title was written on her forehead:
MYSTERY
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.”
Revelation 17:3–5

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-or-what-is-the-great-prostitute-of-revelation-17/feed/07931Is the mark of the Beast a microchip?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/is-the-mark-of-the-beast-a-microchip/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/is-the-mark-of-the-beast-a-microchip/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:58:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/is-the-mark-of-the-beast-a-microchip/In October 2004 the Food and Drug Administration approved the marketing of a microchip implantable under the skin of humans for medical identification. Paranoid prophecy pundits immediately began touting Verichip technology as the mark of the Beast spoken of in Revelation 13. Contrary to such newspaper eschatology, there is no biblical basis for believing that the mark of the Beast is a silicon microchip.

First, biblically, the mark of the Beast is a parody of the mark of the Lamb. Just as the mark on the foreheads of the 144,000 in Revelation 14 symbolizes identity with the Lamb, so the mark in Revelation 13 symbolizes identity with the Beast. Likewise, when Jesus says that on him who overcomes he will write “the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God . . . I will also write on him my new name” (Revelation 3:12), we intuitively realize he does not have a magic marker in mind.

Furthermore, the forehead and the hands are Old Testament symbols of a person’s beliefs and behavior (cf. Exodus 13:9; Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18; Ezekiel 9). In other words, what you believe and how you behave mark you as either belonging to God or belonging to Satan. As such, John’s reference to the mark of the Beast in Revelation is securely tethered to Scripture. Conversely, the notion that the mark of the Beast is Sunday worship, a social security card number, or a silicon microchip has no biblical basis whatsoever.

Finally, the mark of the Beast is not something that can be taken inadvertently. It is the intentional denial in thought, word, and deed of the lordship of Jesus Christ. Thus, rather than fearfully avoiding microchip technology, we should with fear and trembling resist the temptation to be conformed to the evil systems of this world. Instead, we must boldly accept the mark of the Lamb by offering our bodies as living sacrifices and by being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12).

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code (Nashville:W Publishing Group, 2007).

“This observance will be for you like a sign on your
hand and a reminder on your forehead
that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips.”
Exodus 13:9

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/is-the-mark-of-the-beast-a-microchip/feed/07932What is the meaning of 666?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/what-is-the-meaning-of-666/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/what-is-the-meaning-of-666/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:28:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/what-is-the-meaning-of-666/Multitudes today assume that 666 is a number representing a modern-day beast about to be revealed. Placing the beast in the twenty-first century, however, may well pose insurmountable difficulties. First, John, the author of Revelation, told a first-century audience that with “wisdom” and “insight” they would be able to “calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666” (Revelation 13:18). Obviously no amount of wisdom and insight would have enabled a first-century audience to calculate the number of a twenty-first-century beast. It would have been cruel and dangerously misleading for John to suggest to first-century Christians that they could identify the beast if, in fact, the beast was a twenty-first-century individual or institution.

Furthermore, unlike today, transforming names into numbers (gematria) was common in antiquity. For example, in the Lives of the Twelve Caesars Roman historian Suetonius identifies Nero by a numerical designation equal to a nefarious deed. This numerical equality (isopsephism) is encapsulated in the phrase: “Count the numerical values of the letters in Nero’s name, and in ‘murdered his own mother’ and you will find their sum is the same.” In Greek the numerical value of the letters in Nero’s name (Greek: Nevrwn, English transliteration: Neron) totaled 1,005, as did the numbers in the phrase murdered his own mother. This ancient numerical cryptogram reflected the widespread knowledge that Nero had killed his own mother.

Finally, while “Nero” in Greek totaled 1,005, the reader of John’s letter familiar with the Hebrew language could recognize that the Greek spelling of “Nero Caesar” transliterated into Hebrew equals 666. Moreover, the presence in some ancient manuscripts of a variation in which 666 is rendered 616 lends further credence to Nero as the intended referent. The Hebrew transliteration of the Latin spelling of “Nero Caesar” totals 616, just as the Hebrew transliteration of the Greek, which includes an additional letter (Greek: “n”=50, English transliteration: “n”=50), renders 666. Thus, two seemingly unrelated numbers lead you to the same doorstep—that of a beast named Nero Caesar. Twenty-first-century believers, like their first-century counterparts, can be absolutely certain that 666 is the number of Nero’s name and that Nero is the beast who ravaged the bride of Christ in a historical milieu that included three and a half years of persecution. In the end, Peter and Paul themselves were persecuted and put to death at the hands of this Beast. Indeed this was the only epoch in human history in which the Beast could directly assail the foundation of the Christian Church of which Christ himself was the cornerstone.

“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight,
let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is
man’s number. His number is 666.”
Revelation 13:18

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/what-is-the-meaning-of-666/feed/07933Who is the Antichrist?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-is-the-antichrist-2/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-is-the-antichrist-2/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:23:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/who-is-the-antichrist-2/For centuries Christians have speculated about the identity of Antichrist. Likely candidates have included princes and popes of the past as well as potentates and presidents in the present. Rather than joining the sensationalistic game of pin–the–tail–on–the–Antichrist, Christians need only go to Scripture to find the answer.

First, the apostle John exposed the identity of Antichrist when he wrote, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist––he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:22). In his second epistle, John gives a similar warning: “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist” (v. 7).

Furthermore, John taught that all who deny the incarnation, messianic role, and deity of Jesus are instances of antichrist. As such the term “antichrist” refers not only to the apostasy of individuals but to the apostasy of institutions and ideologies as well. In this sense, institutions such as modern–day cults and world religions as well as ideologies such as evolutionism and communism can rightly be considered antichrist.

Finally, in the book of Revelation, John identifies both an individual and an institution that represent the ultimate personification of evil—the archetypal antichrist. He refers to this archetypal antichrist as “a beast who deceived the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 13:14). Drawing on Daniel’s apocalyptic depiction of evil world powers (Revelation 13; cf. Daniel 7–8), John describes an emperor in his own epoch of time who arrogantly sets himself and his empire against God (13:5–6), violently persecuting the saints (13:7), and grossly violating the commandments through a long litany of disgusting demonstrations of depravity, not the least of which was his demand to be worshiped as Lord and God (13:8, 15).

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code (Nashville:W Publishing Group, 2007).

“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you
have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now
many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is
the last hour. They went out from us, but they did
not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us,
they would have remained with us; but their
going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
1 John 2:18–19

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-is-the-antichrist-2/feed/07934Who are the two witnesses of Revelation?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-are-the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-2/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-are-the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-2/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:21:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/who-are-the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-2/Who are the two witnesses of Revelation?

Revelation is an apocalypse. Not just in the sense of recording an unveiling but also in terms of its composition in what might best be described as a language system or matrix deeply embedded in the Old Testament. As such, to rightly identify the two witnesses of Revelation 11, it is crucial to have the background music of the Old Testament coursing through our minds. We must neither attempt to draw exact parallels between the apocalyptic imagery and their Old Testament referents nor attempt to press the language system of Revelation into a literalistic labyrinth such that the two witnesses literally turn their mouths into blowtorches.

First, the two witnesses are a metaphorical reference to Moses and Elijah. Old Testament jurisprudence mandated at least two witnesses to convict of a crime (Deuteronomy 19:15), and in this case the two witnesses accuse Israel of apostacy. The imagery also harkens back to a familiar Old Testament passage in which Zechariah sees two
olive trees on the right and the left of a lampstand which symbolize “the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth” (Zechariah 4:14). The two witnesses in Zechariah were identified as Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah who returned to Jerusalem to lay the foundation of a second temple, and Joshua, the high priest commissioned to preside over its altar. In Revelation this imagery is invested in two witnesses who preside over the judgment and destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple. Like Moses the witnesses have power to turn water into blood. And like Elijah they have power to call down fire from heaven to consume their enemies and to shut up the sky so that it will not rain for three and a half years (1 Kings 17; Luke 4:25).

Furthermore, the mission of the two witnesses can rightly be identified with the person and work of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus they are sacrificial lambs. Indeed, their corpses unceremoniously litter the streets of Jerusalem—the very city in which their Lord was crucified. The city is figuratively called Sodom in that it epitomizes human wickedness and heavenly wrath, and Egypt in that it is emblematic of the slavery from which only Jesus Christ can emancipate. Their resurrection after three and a half days parallels the resurrection of Christ in much the same way that their three–and–a–half–year ministry mirrors that of Messiah.

Finally, the description of these witnesses as “clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3) identifies them with the tradition of Hebrew prophets from Elijah to John the Baptist who wore sackcloth in mourning over Israel’s apostasy (e.g., 2 Kings 1:8; Isaiah 20:2; Matthew 3:4). As such, the two witnesses form a composite image of the Law and the Prophets culminating in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of a Prophet and Priest who is the earnest of all who are his witnesses and who will reign with him in a New Jerusalem wherein dwells righteousness. In light of biblical imagery, the two witnesses are revealed not as two literal people, such as a future reincarnation of Moses and Elijah, but rather as literary characters in John’s apocalyptic narrative representing the entire line of Hebrew prophets in testifying against Israel and warning of soon-coming judgment of God on Jerusalem.

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2007); see also David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Ft. Worth,Tex.: Dominion Press, 1987): 276-8.

“And I will give power to my two witnesses,
and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed
in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the
two lampstands that stand before the Lord of
the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes
from their mouths and devours their enemies.”
Revelation 11:3–5

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-are-the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-2/feed/07935Who are the 144,000 of Revelation?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-are-the-144000-of-revelation/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-are-the-144000-of-revelation/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:19:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/who-are-the-144000-of-revelation/Jehovah’s Witnesses believe there is a “little flock” of 144,000 (Revelation 7:4) who get to go to heaven and a “great crowd’ (Revelation 7:9) of others who are relegated to earth. What does Revelation really reveal? First, the 144,000 and the great multitude are not two different peoples but two different ways of describing the same purified bride. As Richard Bauckham explains, literarily, the 144,000 and the great multitude are comparable to the Lion and the Lamb. Just as John is told about a Lion and turns to see a Lamb (Revelation 5:5–6), so he is told about the 144,000 and turns to see a great multitude (Revelation 7). Thus, the 144,000 is to the great multitude what the Lion is to the Lamb, namely, the same entity seen from two different vantage points. From one vantage point the purified bride is numbered; from another, she is innumerable—a great multitude that no one can count.

Furthermore, to suggest that the 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes means exactly 12,000—not 11,999 or 12,001—must surely stretch the credulity of even the most literalistic Jehovah’s Witness beyond the breaking point. To begin with, ten of the twelve tribes lost their national identity almost three thousand years ago in the Assyrian exile. The other two, Judah and Benjamin, were largely decimated two thousand years ago by Roman hordes. Moreover, the pattern of Scripture is to refer to the community of faith, whether Jew or Gentile, with Jewish designations. New Jerusalem itself is figuratively built on the foundation of the twelve apostles and is entered through twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Not only so, but its walls are twelve times twelve or 144 cubits thick (Revelation 21:12–17). As such, it is far more likely that 144,000 is a number that represents the 12 apostles of the Lamb multiplied by the 12 tribes of Israel, times 1,000. The figurative use of the number 12 and its multiples is well established in biblical history. For example, the tree of life in Paradise restored is said to bear twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month (Revelation 22:2), and the great Presbytery in heaven is surrounded by twenty–four elders (Revelation 4:4; 5:8; 11:16; 19:4). Likewise, the figurative use of the whole number 1,000 is common in Old Testament usage. God increased the number of the Israelites 1,000 times (Deuteronomy 1:11); God keeps his covenant to 1,000 generations (Deuteronomy 7:9); God owns the cattle on 1,000 hills (Psalm 50:10); the least of Zion will become 1,000 and the smallest a mighty nation (Isaiah 60:22); better is a day in God’s courts than 1,000 elsewhere (Psalm 84:10); God shows love to 1,000 generations (Exodus 20:6); “Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son” (2 Samuel 18:12). A thousand more examples (figuratively speaking) could easily be added to the list.

Finally, the 144,000 represent true Israel as it was intended to be—in perfect symmetry and providentially sealed. Who can help but think back to Ezekiel’s epic depiction of a man clothed in linen etching a mark on the foreheads of those who grieved and lamented over all the detestable things done in Jerusalem prior to its destruction by the Babylonians six centuries before Christ (Ezekiel 9:4)? Or fail to realize that those who were marked were the earnest of the 144,000 sealed prior to Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70? She is the purified bride from every nation, tribe, people, and language that will step over Jordan into the New Jerusalem prepared for her from the very foundations of the world. Indeed, the 144,000 is the limitless great multitude of all whose names are written in the Book of Life and who will inhabit the courts of God for all eternity.

“ These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Revelation 7:14

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/who-are-the-144000-of-revelation/feed/07936Which generation is “this generation”?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/which-generation-is-this-generation/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/which-generation-is-this-generation/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:13:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/which-generation-is-this-generation/In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34). Which generation did Jesus have in mind?

First, when Jesus says, “this generation,” this means this. This does not mean that. The phrase “this generation” appears multiple times in the Gospels and always refers to Jesus’ contemporaries. Allow me to state the obvious. Our Lord was not grammatically challenged in the least. Had he wanted to draw the attention of his disciples to a generation nineteen hundred years hence, he would not have confused them with the adjective this.

Furthermore, the suggestion that generation means race is equally gratuitous. Indeed, rendering generation “race” would make the time parameter in Jesus’ prophecy virtually meaningless. Common sense alone dictates that in answering his disciples’ question, “When will these things happen?” (v. 3) Jesus does not respond by saying, “I tell you the truth, this race of people will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

Finally, grammatical gyrations, such as rendering this “that” and generation “race,” are ultimately unnecessary. All the things Jesus prophesied came to pass just as he said they would—not the least of which was his “coming on clouds.”

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code(Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2007)

“The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment
with this generation and condemn it; for they
repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one
greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the
South will rise at the judgment with this generation
and condemn it; for she came from the ends
of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now
one greater than Solomon is here.”
MATTHEW 12:41–42

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/which-generation-is-this-generation/feed/07937Is “coming on clouds” a reference to Christ’s second coming?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/is-coming-on-clouds-a-reference-to-christs-second-coming/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/is-coming-on-clouds-a-reference-to-christs-second-coming/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:09:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/is-coming-on-clouds-a-reference-to-christs-second-coming/Many modern skeptics, following scholars such as Bertrand Russell and Albert Schweitzer, have believed Jesus to be a false prophet because he predicted his “coming on clouds” within the lifetime of his disciples. Did Jesus have the Second Coming in mind or does “coming on clouds” have a different meaning?

First, when Jesus told Caiaphas and the court that condemned him to death that he was the Son of Man who would come “on the clouds of heaven” he was not speaking of his second coming but of the coming judgment of Jerusalem (Matthew 26:63–64). As Caiaphas and the court well knew, clouds were a common Old Testament symbol pointing to God as the sovereign judge of the nations. In the words of Isaiah, “See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them” (Isaiah 19:1, emphasis added). Like the Old Testament prophets, Jesus employs the symbolism of clouds to warn his hearers that as judgment fell on Egypt, so would judgment soon befall Jerusalem.

Furthermore, the “coming on clouds” judgment metaphor was clearly intended for Caiaphas and the first–century crowd who condemned Christ to death. In the words of our Lord, “I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64, emphasis added). The generation that crucified Christ would see the day that he was exalted and enthroned at “the right hand of the Mighty One.”

Finally, Jesus’ “coming on clouds” to judge Jerusalem in the first century points forward to the end of time when he will appear again “to judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1; cf. 1 Peter 4:5). Indeed, as Jesus promised, a day is coming when “all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28–29). Or as the writer of Hebrews put it, “he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (9:28).

“Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye
will see him, even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because
of him. So shall it be! Amen.”
Revelation 1:7

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/is-coming-on-clouds-a-reference-to-christs-second-coming/feed/07938Does the Bible make a distinction between Israel and the Church?http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/does-the-bible-make-a-distinction-between-israel-and-the-church-2/
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/does-the-bible-make-a-distinction-between-israel-and-the-church-2/#respondWed, 13 Apr 2011 13:08:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/bible_answers/does-the-bible-make-a-distinction-between-israel-and-the-church-2/At the heart of a currently popular end–times theology is the belief that God has two distinct people—one of whom must be raptured before God can continue his plan with the other. Rather than teaching that God has two categories of people, Scripture reveals only one chosen people who form one covenant community, beautifully symbolized by one cultivated olive tree.

First, far from communicating a distinction between Israel and the church, the Scriptures from beginning to end reveal that God has only ever had one chosen people purchased “from every tribe and tongue and language and nation” (Revelation 5:9). As Paul explains, the “mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6, emphasis added). Indeed, the precise terminology used to describe the children of Israel in the Old Testament is ascribed to the church in the New Testament. Peter calls them “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9). Ultimately, they are the one chosen people of God not by virtue of their genealogical relationship to Abraham but by virtue of their genuine relationship to “the living Stone— rejected by men but chosen by God” (1 Peter 2:4).

Furthermore, just as the Old and New Testaments reveal only one chosen people, so too they reveal only one covenant community. While that one covenant community is physically rooted in the offspring of Abraham—whose number would be like that of “the stars” of heaven (Genesis 15:5) or “the dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:16)—it is spiritually grounded in one singular Seed. Paul makes this explicit in his letter to the Galatians: “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed’ meaning one person, who is Christ” (3:16, emphasis added). As Paul goes on to explain: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (v. 29). The faithful remnant of Old Testament Israel and New Testament Christianity are together the one genuine seed of Abraham and thus heirs according to the promise. This remnant is chosen not on the basis of religion or race but rather on the basis of relationship to the resurrected Redeemer.

Finally, the one chosen people, who form one covenant community, are beautifully symbolized in the book of Romans as one cultivated olive tree (Romans 11:11–24). The tree symbolizes Israel; its branches symbolize those who believe; and its root symbolizes Jesus—the root and the offspring of David (Revelation 22:16). Natural branches broken off represent Jews who reject Jesus. Wild branches grafted in represent Gentiles who receive Jesus. Thus says Paul, “Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. . . . In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring” (Romans 9:6–8). Jesus is the one genuine seed of Abraham! And all clothed in Christ constitute one congruent chosen covenant community connected by the Cross.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:28–29

]]>http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/does-the-bible-make-a-distinction-between-israel-and-the-church-2/feed/07939What is Jesus’ Second Advent?http://www.equip.org/video/what-is-jesus-second-advent/
http://www.equip.org/video/what-is-jesus-second-advent/#respondFri, 08 Apr 2011 15:54:28 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/video/what-is-jesus-second-advent/What is the second advent? What is going to happen when Jesus returns? www.equip.org http